


whispers in the dark

by liionne



Series: A thousand ways to meet [36]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 17:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1695746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Leonard returns home from his old life in Mississippi, it's easy to fall back in love with old flame Jim Kirk, but as easy as it is to fall in love, it's not so easy to <i>be</i> in love.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>"Bones?"</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>The name startled him. He blinked, focusing on the face of the person in front of him. He was older now, of course, and his hair was darker than Leonard remembered it being. He had a few more scars, visible ones, but his eyes were just as brilliantly blue as they had been when Leonard had last seen him.</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>"Jim." He said, eyebrows raising in surprise. "Hi."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	whispers in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the lack of updates- i have my first year of a levels, and exams are kicking my butt. i think i have another thing in the works though, so there may or may not be something up soon. This is unbeta'd and mostly wrote at 1am, so I hope it's okay.

_"You promise? Promise you'll never leave me?"_

_"I promise, Jim."_

_Leonard kisses him, and Jim tastes like fruity cocktails and toasted marshmallows and what he believes to be sunshine._

~*~

"I don't wanna go, Daddy."

"We don't have a choice, darlin'."

Leonard pursed his lips, looking out of the windscreen. Behind him, in the back of the car, Joanna sighed. She fiddled with the hem of her barbie doll's skirt, big brown eyes downcast.

"All of my friends are back in Mississippi."

"You'll make new friends." Leonard looked up, met her gaze in the rear-view mirror. "I know it's scary, Jo, but it'll be good. You'll make new friends, 'n there'll be new places to explore, 'n you'll get to see your Grandma every day."

Joanna didn't seem swayed by any of those prospects. She was silent, and then she said, "I miss mommy."

Leonard looked back at the road ahead of them is they drove into town. It was his turn to be silent, before he murmured, "Me too."

~*~

He hauled the bags out of the car as Joanna ran, little legs moving as fast as they could as she ran up to the porch to meet her grandma, who stood with hands clasped in front of her.

He was vaguely aware of their chatter, too far away for him to really hear. There was the usual stuff, _"look how big you're getting"_ and all that crap. Leonard pulled as much stuff out of the trunk as he could, and carried it over to the house.

"Leonard, honey," His mother greeted him, reaching out to kiss his cheek.

Leonard shuffled the bags to wrap one arm around her, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Hey ma."

She ushered them inside, a smile on her lips. The house had once been hers, the house Leonard had grown up in, but it was far too big for her to live in all on her own. Leonard needed a place to stay now that he was going to live in Georgia permanently again, and so it seemed like a good idea to move back in. His mom could look after Joanna when he was work, and she could help keep on top of the housework- Leonard had never been very good at housework.

His mother took Joanna into the kitchen to make her something to eat, and Leonard hauled the bags upstairs. He'd gotten a job at the local hospital, Joanna was starting school on Monday, and they were going to start their new life down south.

Leonard wished he was more excited.

He unpacked all of their things, setting up his room first, and then Joanna's. When he was done with that, he headed back downstairs, poking his head in the door.

"'m gonna go food shopping. Any special requests?"

"Ice cream!" Joanna chirped, despite the cake she was tucking into.

Leonard nodded, and headed out the door.

Food shopping was something he could do, something he was actually capable of, but only because his mother had left him a list. He stuck to it dutifully, and found that Joanna's ice cream was already on there. It was oddly relaxing, working his way around the store and finding what he needed.

Or at least, it was until he crashed.

He'd turned the corner onto the bred aisle without thinking, and the force had knocked him a little.

"Jeez man, I'm sorry, I wasn't-"

"-Sorry, I didn't-"

"Bones?"

The name startled him. He blinked, focusing on the face of the person in front of him. He was older now, of course, and his hair was darker than Leonard remembered it being. He had a few more scars, visible ones, but his eyes were just as brilliantly blue as they had been when Leonard had last seen him.

"Jim." He said, eyebrows raising in surprise. "Hi."

"Hey." Jim returned. There was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "What're you, uh- what're you doing here? Didn't you move to Mississippi?"

"For college, yeah." Leonard nodded.

Jim nodded too. "Your mom said you ended up settling-"

Leonard nodded slowly now, eyes flicking down to his food. He had never really settled in Mississippi. He had been there for a whole ten years, but it never felt like home. "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

Silence.

When Leonard looked up from the contents of his cart, he noticed the odd shade of pink Jim had turned.

What he also noticed was how cute it looked.

And then he reprimanded himself for that.

"Well, uh, it was nice seeing you, anyway." Jim nodded, giving Leonard an almost nervous smile. The Jim Kirk he had known had never been nervous. He was cocky and arrogant, and he liked to make himself heard. He blushed- Leonard had wonderful ways of making him blush -but not because he was nervous. Not ever.

"We should, uh- we should catch up sometime. Get coffee, or something." Leonard offered. The idea of spending time with Jim was more welcome than he had initially realised.

Jim's smile was now a little less nervous, and he nodded. "Sure."

"I'll call you?" Leonard offered. Jim gave him a smile, scrawling Leonard's number on the back of his hand.

"See you soon." He said, giving a small, hopeful looking smile as he stepped away.

Leonard smiled in return, and waited for Jim to go before he carried on, heading for the checkout.

~*~

"I'm not going!"

"Joanna-"

"No!"

"Jo, baby-"

"They all hate me! Even the teacher!"

Leonard sighed. They'd had this argument every day for the past three days, since Joanna's first day at her new school. He shook his head, and decided enough was enough. He picked her up, grabbing his bag as he headed out of the house. Joanna fussed, demanding she be put down and taken immediately back to Mississippi.

"Your teacher doesn't hate you, Jojo. She's nice. And the other kids might be more friendly if you stopped being so grumpy. You ever thought of that?"

She had a pet lip. Leonard set her down in the back of the car, and buckled her in. He sighed again, lingering at the door.

"We're not going back to Mississippi, Jo. Not ever. We've not got anything to go back to. This is our life now, and you've gotta get used to it, sweetheart. You've got to at least try to like it." He paused, and then added, "Think you can do that for me?"

She paused too, and then nodded solemnly. "Yeah. I can try."

"There's a good girl." Leonard smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he went to get into the front. He was glad she'd agreed to cooperate; it was only making life harder for him.

He went straight from school to the hospital; he didn't have time to fit a coffee in between because he was already running late, and he had surgery in fifteen minutes. His first surgery since he'd started at the hospital in Georgia.

And it wasn't like he was a bad doctor. He'd graduated top of his class from Ole' Miss, was one of the best trauma surgeons in the state- he'd invented his own form of surgery. He was _not_ a bad doctor.

He was just having trouble fitting in. He understood his daughter's pain better than she thought.

He was just getting ready to go into theatre, scrubbing his hands half to death, when there was a knock on the door.

"Doctor McCoy- they wanted to ask if you could come down to the emergency room? There's been an accident at a garage and it's pretty bad."

The nurse in question, Christine, had been in Leonard's year at college. With the whole doctors and nurses things, they'd shared similar social circles. She'd moved over here when she'd graduated, though- it was a pretty big coincidence, but it made Leonard feel a little more at home, at least.

He looked over his shoulder, and then back to her. "'m a little busy, Chris."

"I'll send M'Benga up to cover it." She said. "He's an oncologist anyway, he'll be fine."

With a sigh, Leonard nodded. "Sure. I'll be right down."

~*~

Carnage. That was the only word Leonard could properly think to use to describe the ER when he got there.

The residents were running around like headless chickens trying to prioritise the patients, trying to treat things as best they could, but they worn't doing a very good job. Leonard paused, assessed the situation, and then he went straight over to the bed closest to the door.

"Is this your way of getting my attention?"

"You hadn't called, I was worried."

He didn't sound worried. He sounded a lot less nervous than when Leonard had first saw him, but maybe that had something to do with the adrenaline.

"What happened?" Leonard asked, before taking his leg carefully to examine it, blood staining his gloves and contrasting with the white latex.

"Car fell off the jack, but it was pretty high up." Jim winces. Glass shattered in the windows, and there were a few people underneath it."

"You one of them?" Leonard asked, looking up with genuine concern.

Jim just nodded. Obviously, he was in some serious pain.

"I'm going to get you upstairs, get you to radiology and get you some morphine, alright?" Leonard asked, but it wasn't really a question. Jim nodded regardless.

"Leonard- Bones-"

The nickname hit him like a punch to the gut, and it caught his attention immediately. He looked over to Jim, about to go and get him a wheelchair, and took one step back toward him.

"Don't- don't leave me on my own, please."

~*~

_"I hate this."_

_"I know you do."_

_"They're gonna call my mom. And Frank."_

_"I know, Jim."_

_"I hate hospitals."_

_"I know, baby- but it's alright. I'm here."_

~*~

"Uh- I won't. I'll make sure someone sticks with you." Leonard nodded, looking to one of the residents to come and get Jim into his wheelchair. "I'll check on you as soon as you're out of radiology, I promise."

Jim's nose wrinkled a little at that, and Leonard wasn't sure why. "Sure." He said, as he was wheeled away. "Right."

~*~

"Your leg is pretty much shattered. You're going to be in a cast for a hell of a long time, Jim."

"Does it need surgery?"

There was genuine fear in his eyes, but Leonard shook his head. "No- No, it won't need surgery. But it's going to need a lot of care. We're going to keep you here for a few days before we let you go."

Jim nodded solemnly. "I'll not get sick pay."

"Doesn't matter, you'll be using our resources." Leonard said. "I'll make sure you're alright, Jim. It's my job."

Jim met Leonard's gaze and Leonard had to look away, although he wasn't sure why. It just felt wrong. Not quite right, to hold Jim's gaze.

"Thanks, Bones."

He had apparently taken to using the nickname again, and Leonard hated it. It reminded him of the past, of times gone by and promises he'd broken. Hearts he'd broken.

He went to leave when, once again, Jim stopped him.

"Why didn't you call, Bones?"

Leonard stopped in the doorway, and turned just a little on his heel, enough to be able to see Jim properly. He shrugged. "Nerves, I guess."

"So you were going to call?" Jim continued. "You weren't just going to leave me hanging."

"Of course I was going to call." Leonard said. "I'm a man of my word."

And they both know how much of a lie that is, but Leonard turned away before either of them could bring that up.

~*~

Jim was packing his few possessions, getting ready to go. The cast was big and bulky and he was stuck wearing shorts, because there was no way that cast was going to fit under a pair of jeans.

"Check in every week, on every appointment I've given you." Leonard directed. "Don't miss one- your leg was pretty bad, so we need to keep checking on it."

"Gotcha." Jim nodded, swinging himself on his crutches towards the door. Leonard followed him, heading to the elevator.

"Jim- how about that coffee?" He asked. It had been three weeks now since he'd promised to call him, but no time better than the present, he supposed.

Jim beamed, but he quickly contained it. "Sure. How about tomorrow? There's a new cafe in town, it's kinda nice. Just round the corner, actually."

"Sounds great." Leonard agreed. He didn't know anything about it, but it meant a date with Jim, so he was going to be there. "Meet you at 2?" It would be just after his shift ended, so he'd be able to have a shower and doll himself up and get down there before he had to pick Joanna up from school.

"Okay." Jim nodded. He was obviously containing a grin. "See you then."

He swung himself into the lift, and was grinning before the doors had even close properly.

But it was alright; Leonard was grinning too.

~*~

Leonard ran a hand through his hair for the fourteenth time, and shrugged into his jacket. He shoved his phone and his wallet into his pocket, and headed out into the car to go and meet Jim. He was right- the new cafe in town _was_ nice. He ordered himself a black coffee and went to sit in a booth by the corner.

He was early, but he thought maybe that was better than being late. At least now he'd show Jim just how dedicated he was.

And then, because the universe was conspiring against him, it seemed, his phone rang.

"Dr. McCoy?" The school receptionist asked. Leonard groaned. What now? "Dr. McCoy, your daughter is sick, and she needs to be brought home right away. Is there any chance you could come and collect her?"

Leonard bit his lip. "I'm in a meeting. Have you tried her grandma?"

"We've tried. It was engaged."

Of course. His mother was at his sister's house today. She always turned her phone off in there- Donna's husband was worried about the microwaves.

"I'll be right there." He sighed.

When he got to the school, he was glad he was there. Joanna was pale, clammy, and she had a rash. She looked sick, and she was sniffling. She always sniffled when she was in pain.

"It's alright, sweetheart." Leonard murmured as he picked her up, nodding to the secretary as he left. "We're gonna get you home, it's okay. I've got you."

He took her home and put her to bed, taking her temperature and her pulse and a few other things. It was just a bug, he decided. A pretty bad bug, but a bug nonetheless.

When his mother came home it was pushing three o'clock. No way Jim would have waited that long.

But Leonard lived in hope.

When he was sure his mother had all the information and knew what to do, he hopped in the car and went back to the cafe- but of course, Jim was gone. When Leonard asked the barista, the pretty girl with the long dark hair and the big dark eyes, she said, "He was here, but he left looking pretty upset."

Leonard had thought as much.

He sighed as he got back into the car, driving home fairly slowly. The universe just didn't want him to be happy, it seemed. Didn't want him with Jim or with anyone else.

And then as he turned the block, he saw him: Jim's figure walking down the street, head hung low.

He pulled over right beside him, and got out.

"Jim!"

"Just leave me alone."

Jim didn't even turn to look at him. Leonard followed him.

"Jim, I'm sorry, I-"

"I get it, Bones, I do, you left the first time around, so why would you-"

"My daughter was sick, she got sent home from school, I-"

"You have a daughter?"

The question took him off guard, but finally Jim had turned to look at him. He looked good, Leonard noted, but now wasn't the time. He nodded.

"How old is she?" Jim asked.

"Seven." Leonard answered.

"Seven." Jim repeated. His voice was soft, contemplating. "What's her name?"

"Joanna." Leonard answered. "I wanted to name her Pamela, but we always said that if it was a boy I'd name him and if it was a girl, Jocelyn would name her."

A stupid bit of information that Jim didn't need, but it didn't phase him. "Jocelyn?" He asked.

"My wife." Leonard answered.

Now that _did_ phase him. Jim's eyes widened. "Where- where's she now?"

Leonard swallowed around the lump that was quickly forming in his throat, eyes darting to his car and to the ground and then back up at Jim, whose piercing blue gaze had never once left his face.

"She's not with us anymore." Leonard answered, and the soft waver to his voice hopefully suggested what he wanted it to, because he couldn't say that out loud.

Jim nodded slowly; he'd caught on. "I'm sorry." He said softly.

Leonard shook his head. "Better this way." He answered.

Jim pursed his lips like he had no idea how death could be better than life but then he was just like everyone else; no one understood. Leonard hadn't even understood at firs,t but now he did. He understood loud and clear.

"We can reschedule." Jim said. "You should go and be with your daughter when she's sick."

Leonard nodded.

"Same time next week?" Jim asked.

Leonard nodded again. "Thanks, Jim."

Jim gave him a small smile, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "It's okay, Bones. It's okay."

~*~

_"You weren't here."_

_"I know, Bones."_

_"I waited."_

_"I know you did."_

_"Well aren't you gonna give me an excuse?"_

_"No. I just couldn't make it."_

~*~

This time, Leonard did make it to their date.

Jim looked different to last time, but he still looked good. Leonard had decided he liked it after their last brief meeting. He was still in his cast, of course, but it only made him more endearing.

"You made it." Jim smiled, a smile so genuine it nearly bowled Leonard over.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I made it."

"How's Joanna?" Jim asked, and Leonard was just impressed that he'd remembered the name.

"Milking it." Leonard answered. "But I let her have another day off anyway."

Jim grinned. "I bet she loves you."

"She loves me when it suits her." Leonard answered, sipping his coffee.

They talked. They talked for hours- literally. Leonard jumped so high he nearly hit the ceiling when he checked his watch and realised he was half an hour late for work, and god damn was he going to get into trouble- but Jim gave him his address. Told him to come over as soon as he could.

And honestly, Leonard planned to.

He never went over straight from work, always went home to make sure that Joanna had her dinner and get a shower before he headed over to Jim's. They didn't do very much. They just talked. Jim would make food and Leonard would bring wine and they'd talk, because that was what it was like, a new relationship. They'd done this all before, but it still felt so new.

And then it shifted- Leonard went to say goodbye, and maybe it was the wine but he leaned in to kiss him, lips just ghosting over his. Jim pulled him in by the collar, hands fisted in his shirt to tug him closer. The kiss was sloppy, clumsy, teeth clacked and tongues clashed but it was still the best kiss Leonard had had in a hell of a long time.

When Jim pulled away, he looked startled.

"I'm- fuck, I'm sorry, Bones, I didn't-"

All Leonard did in return was grin. "It's fine. Really. More than fine."

And Jim had grinned in return, any previous worry forgotten.

~*~

They were unofficially together again, and Leonard of course informed his mother, because he was going to spending more time with Jim outside of work so he was going to be needing a lot more help to get Joanna to and from school, and keep her fed and watered. She was a saint; she was patient.

Jim's cast came off eventually, and Leonard was the one to cut through it. He pulled the cast off, and grimaced at the smell.

"That's attractive." He noted, nose wrinkled as he discarded of the dirty cast.

"What, you don't like two month old sweat?" Jim asked, grinning wide.

Leonard just grimaced in return. "It's not my favourite of all fragrances."

"Daddy!"

He wasn't expecting the shrill little cry, and he turned just in time to have Joanna barrel into him. He blinked, an arm wrapping around his waist as he looked over to his mother, stood by the nurses station.

She threw her hands up in exasperation, but Leonard understood. Joanna was very strong willed. If she wanted to see her daddy, she was going to go and see her daddy.

"What're you doing here, huh?" He asked, a hand smoothing over the top of her head.

"Just wanted to see you." She said into his stomach, where she pressed her face into.

"Y'know you shouldn't be here when I'm working." He scolded gently, but Joanna had set her sights elsewhere.

"Who's this? 'n why is he so smelly?"

When Leonard turned around to look at Jim, he was met with wide, almost fearful eyes.

"Uh- this is Jim. And he only smells because he has a cast on. He doesn't normally smell so bad." Leonard answered. Jim stared on wide eyed.

Joanna smiled, and held her hand straight out to him. "I'm Joanna. It's nice to meet you Mister Jim."

Jim gave a small nod, and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you too."

They all stood in silence for a moment. Leonard wasn't sure, but he thought Jim looked just a little freaked out. Which was... weird.

"Joanna, why don't you go down to the cafeteria and get some ice cream? I'll come meet you in a few minutes." Leonard offered.

"Okay!" She beamed. The mention of ice cream was enough to grab her attention, and she held her Grandma's hand as she tugged her towards the elevators.

"Sorry, Jim- I didn't know she was gonna be here. Really." Leonard apologised, reaching out to take Jim's hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

Jim didn't return the squeeze. "It's- it's okay. She doesn't look like you."

"No." Leonard agreed, lips pursing. Something was wrong. "She looks more like her momma."

Jim blinked rapidly, and then swallowed audibly. "You should go be with her." He said.

Leonard paused, before giving a nod. "Yeah." He said. "I'll get a nurse to come in and see to your leg, wash it and stuff. Leave whenever you're ready."

He gave his hand one last final squeeze before he turned away, leaving the forms behind as he headed to the cafeteria.

~*~

He called Jim that night. Four times. The same the next night, and the next night, and the next night, but he didn't get any answer. He kept trying and trying for weeks, and to no avail. He went over to Jim's apartment, but he never got an answer there either.

Jim had, it seemed, disappeared.

Leonard got on with his life because he had to. Obviously his daughter had scared Jim away and that was fine. Leonard now couldn't afford to waste time on someone who couldn't accept his baby girl, couldn't accept that he was a widower, a man with a broken family. He needed someone who would support that, and apparently Jim couldn't.

Leonard had underestimated just how big Atlanta was. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bump into Jim at all.

After three weeks of radio silence he got a text.

[text msg; jim] we need to talk. come to my place, 8.30?

It was nearly eight, but Leonard wasn't going to pass this up.

[text msg] i'll be there.

He didn't know what there was to talk about, but he was going to be there to find out. He had to be.

~*~

"You left me."

The door had only just clicked shut behind him when those words left Jim's mouth, and Leonard frowned.

"You said you'd come back, after college. You said you'd come back to be with me."

And Leonard knew it was going to come to this eventually. He pursed his lips, and nodded. "I know."

"So why didn't you?"

Jim wasn't angry. He sounded angry, but he'd seen Jim angry. This wasn't angry. This was _hurt_ , plain and simple.

"Because I had a family, Jim."

Jim snorted. "Right."

"It was six years, Jim. Six years I was at college and I thought we were over. I- I got her pregnant. So we got married. But I loved her, so I stayed. I fell in love with her."

Joanna didn't know that. His mom didn't even know that. The only people who had known that Jocelyn and Leonard had gotten married because of the baby was Jocelyn and Leonard. They told everyone else that they'd done it on a whim, but he was sure that everyone had suspected when, eight months later, Jocelyn had had a baby.

Jim snorted. "Chivalry isn't dead, right?"

Leonard pursed his lips. He had nothing to say to that.

"You could have called." Jim said. "You could have wrote, or visited, or-"

"No I couldn't have." Leonard argued, but his voice was soft; tired.

"Yeah?" Jim asked. _Demanded_. "And why not?"

"Because if I had of called you I would've left her. Left Joanna. And I couldn't do that to either of them." Leonard snapped. He was angry now- how dare Jim assumed that he'd just forgotten about him. That he had forgotten the promise he made him. "They needed me. So I stayed."

"I needed you!" Jim cried. He really was crying- Leonard could see the tear tracks down his cheeks. "I need you here, where you said you'd be."

"They needed me more, Jim. They needed more so much more, and I'm sorry, and I hated myself for it, but I had to do right by them." Leonard said, standing his ground.

Jim was looking at the floor, not at Leonard. Leonard figured the conversation was over, now, and he didn't want to be here anymore.

"I'm gonna go." He said eventually. Jim sniffed. "I _am_ sorry, Jim. And if you can forgive me, then call me. But Joanna's my priority now. I need to put her first."

He left no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much he wanted to crowd Jim up against the counter and hold him, kiss away his tears and make him see just how much Leonard loved him, and how sorry he was, but he was right; Joanna came first. She would always come first.

He cried when he got home, when he was sure no one could hear, but he woke up to a suspiciously sympathetic mother and an oddly quiet daughter and he knew he hadn't been as quiet as he thought.

~*~

Leonard got on with his life because he had no other choice. He took Jo to school, went to work, picked her up and then made her dinner, helped her with her homework or played with her. He didn't even attempt dates, no matter how much his mother pushed him.

It was after two months of more silence from Jim that he got a text. He wasn't expecting it, after so long, but on his day off he took Joanna to school and headed over there, per Jim's request.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter, eyes fixed on the floor as Leonard let himself in.

"You always knew what the right thing to do was." Jim said slowly, like he was trying to remember something he'd written down. "You always knew what was right." He looked up, meeting his gaze. "You were right to stay with her."

Leonard gave a nod as Jim came close, swallowing thickly. He didn't really have anything to say.

"I'm sorry. I was- I was an ass." Jim said.

"I was an ass too." Leonard murmured, but Jim just shook his head, stepping forward until he was almost pressed against Leonard, chests close to touching.

"Can you forgive me?" Jim asked.

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Can you?" He asked in return.

When Jim leaned forward to kiss him it was soft and slow and full of meaning, and Leonard couldn't help but lean into him, arms winding around his waist.

"Already have." Jim murmured against his lips, wasting no more time as he leaned in to kiss him once more.

~*~

"Pancakes. And smiley-face pancakes for m'lady."

"Thanks Jim!"

Joanna chirped as Jim set the pancakes down on her plat, legs swinging as she reached for the sugar. Leonard was running late, but he grabbed his far too hot pancake and rolled it up, backpack in the other hand as he slung it over his shoulder, and grabbed his lunch. He pressed a kiss to Jim's cheek, watching Jim smile.

"Gotta go to work- slept in. Again."

Jim's coy smile meant he knew exactly why. He was always tired after a... _good night_ with Jim.

"I'll see you at four." He looked from Joanna to Jim, and asked, "You to gonna be okay?"

Jim grinned, and Joanna munched quite happily on her pancakes- which were now smothered in an inch of sugar.

"We're going to be fine." He assured Leonard, leaning in to kiss him again.

This kiss was longer, harder and sweeter, and Leonard hard to hold back a moan against his lips. When he pulled away, he felt a little flushed. He moved to press a kiss to the top of Joanna's head, and yelled a "see you later!" over his shoulder.

it didn't matter that he was running late and he was burning the tips of his fingers off with the rolled-up pancake in his hand, because he had his family again. He had his boyfriend - no, _fiance_ \- and his daughter, and his mother, who'd moved out not too long ago when Jim had moved in and Leonard had proposed.

All things considered, his life was pretty damn great.

**Author's Note:**

> Any prompts, feedback or ideas are welcome!


End file.
